1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device or a system that processes document information composed of a plurality of elements, for instance, structured-document information described in a structured-document description language such as an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or an XML (Extensible Markup Language).
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of WWW (World Wide Web) browser software such as the Netscape Communicator (a registered trademark) of Netscape Communication Co. that is used for reading a document created in an HTML format has a function to download only text information and display the text information almost in an original layout, and to display image information as a small icon instead of downloading the image information and displaying the image information itself, in order to minimize a download time.
Additionally, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 11-203100 discloses a network printer used for minimizing its download time. This network printer downloads only information that is expressed in a specific format inside an HTML document, for example, text information, or image information expressed in a GIF format. On the other hand, the network printer does not download advertisement information, image information whose data size is extremely large, and image information expressed in a format such as a JPEG format, a BMP format or a MPEG format other than the GIF format. Subsequently, the network printer prints out only downloaded information by following an original layout of the downloaded information.
Additionally, the WWW browser software, all kinds of application software such as an editor, and printer-driver software have a function to print a specific page of a document or a part of the specific page by carrying out page specification or area specification.
Document information composed of a plurality of elements is, for example, structured document information described in the HTML, the XML or the like. It is not always desirable to print the entire document information in order to understand contents of the document information. In general, not all of the elements in the document information are important. A degree of significance of each element varies in the document information. Thus, the contents of the document information can be efficiently understood, by printing only an element whose degree of significance is high. Additionally, the number of consumed print sheets for printing the document information can be reduced.
However, an operation is troublesome to display the document information, specify a page including the element whose degree of significance is high or an area including the element, and print the element, by using the WWW browser software or the like. In addition, such an operation does not necessarily achieve efficient understanding of the contents or reduction of the number of the consumed print sheets.
For instance, in a case in which first and fifth pages of document information having five pages include highly significant elements, the number of consumed print sheets can be reduced to two, by specifying and printing only the first and fifth pages, where all the five pages are normally printed. However, in a case in which the highly significant elements are spread throughout all the pages, the above-described page specification cannot achieve reduction of the number of the consumed print sheets. Additionally, if each printed page includes an element whose degree of significance is low in either of the above-described cases, such an element prevents efficient understanding of the contents.
On the other hand, the element whose degree of significance is low is not printed, by specifying and printing only an area that includes the highly significant element, instead of specifying and printing a page including the highly significant element. This area specification gives an advantage to increase efficiency of understanding the contents. However, an operation to specify the area including the highly significant element is troublesome. In addition, by specifying each highly significant element using the area specification in a case in which a plurality of highly significant elements are included in one page, each specified element is individually printed on a single print sheet. Consequently, the number of consumed print sheets possibly increases, despite the purpose of reducing the number.
The above-described network printer hardly achieves efficient understanding of contents of document information or reduction of the number of consumed print sheets. In detail, the network printer is not expected to reduce the number of consumed print sheets, since the network printer dose not download a part of the document information, but prints out the document information in its original format. Additionally, since an information format of an element does not correspond to a degree of significance of the element, the network printer possibly prints an element whose degree of significance is low, or does not possibly print an element whose degree of significance is high.
In a case in which a display device displays the document information, the display device achieves efficient understanding of the contents of the document information by displaying only an element whose degree of significance is high, or, at least, by preferably displaying elements whose degrees of significance are high. However, usage of the above-described WWW browser software such as Netscape Communicator cannot display only the element whose degree of significance is high, and cannot preferably display the elements whose degrees of significance are high.
Transmission of the document information by use of an image transmission device such as a facsimile device is similar to the above-described process to output the document information to a display device or a printer. In detail, the image transmission device preferably outputs or transmits an element whose degree of significance is high among a plurality of elements included in the document information, to a receiving end. Accordingly, the receiving end can save print sheets by printing only the element whose degree of significance is high. In addition, a transmission time to transmit the document information to the receiving end can be reduced.
Document information such as XML document information including an image or a sound tends to have a large information size. Thus, it is often necessary to discard a part of the XML document information before storing or transmitting the XML document information, in order to minimize a storage capacity necessary for storing the XML document information or a transmission time necessary for completing transmission of the XML document information. However, information necessary for understanding contents of the document information should not be lost as a result of discarding the part of the document information.